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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “side menu”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “side menu”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 4 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Floating Side Tab shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 600+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 612 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Side Cart Woocommerce | Woocommerce Cart 70K+ · 4.9★ (453) wp.org #3 ↓1 2 too low 2 Float menu – awesome floating side menu 30K+ · 4.4★ (41) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Side Menu Lite – Sticky Floating Side Menu 7K+ · 4.0★ (12) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Admin Menu Editor 300K+ · 4.6★ (312) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 WP Mobile Menu – The Mobile-Friendly Responsive Menu 70K+ · 4.7★ (256) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Menu Cart for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.6★ (99) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 Simple Floating Menu 10K+ · 5.0★ (38) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #17 ↓1 8 too low 10 Simple Side Tab 10K+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #6 ↑1 4 too high 11 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #23 ↓1 12 too low 12 WP Menu Cart 8K+ · 4.8★ (23) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 Food Menu – Restaurant Menu & Online Ordering for WooCommerce 2K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #16 ↑1 3 too low 14 Five Star Restaurant Menu and Food Ordering 5K+ · 4.6★ (107) wp.org #20 6 too low 15 Modern Cart – WooCommerce Side Cart & Popup Cart 60K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too high 16 Offcanvas Mobile Menu 800+ · 4.9★ (18) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 Bubble Menu – Floating Button Menu with Sticky Navigation 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #13 ↑1 4 too high 18 Fullscreen Menu 1K+ · 4.7★ (14) wp.org #22 ↓4 4 too low 19 Groovy Menu Plugin (Free) 4K+ · 3.6★ (25) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too high 21 F12 Floating Menu, sticky menu for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22 Floating Side Tab 600+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 WPB Floating Menu or Categories – Sticky Floating Side Menu & Categories with Icons 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 ThemeHunk – Side Cart, Ajax Cart & Menu Cart for WooCommerce 5K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑5 6 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.